Timers have long been used in appliances such as washers, dishwashers, dryers and refrigerators to control their functions. This is done by having electrical switches open and close in accordance with a program provided by a cam. The timers are usually motor driven through their own separate motor means, the motor means deriving its power from the power source of the refrigerator or components thereof.
In the manufacture of these timers, it is especially important that the electrical contact blades of the switches and/or the electrical terminals extending from the blades be securely held in place, usually by a wall of the timer housing. If they are not securely held, timing inaccuracies will occur. And in some cases, catastrophic failures could occur.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,015, there is described and claimed a timer having combination electrical contact blades and electrical terminals individually held in a wall of the timer housing through a projection lanced from the electrical terminal and engaging a notch in the wall. And in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,790,726 and 4,297,547 there is shown timers wherein the electrical blades are held by a pair of projections lanced from the blades and engaging slots.